Arigato Gaara
by Gaarazlilmiss
Summary: Hinata finds gaara outside of Konoha when she decides to take a breather. She learns he's been accused of a crime. Hinata helps him out of his situation while at the same time learning something from him.


**Arigato Gaara**

**By Gaarazlilmiss**

This is just a simple little one shot I decided to write because I thought it would be good to try one. Unlike my other story, this one's from Hinata's point of view. I hope you all like it.

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I met him when I was escaping the life I knew, having one of my fits. He was leaned up against the gate leading out of Konoha, eyes closed, reflecting upon his own life. I wasn't surprised. Sabaku no Gaara was always like this. Naruto told me he was like him, but I don't see how.

Why was I in a fit? It wasn't abnormal. Just my father, Hyuuga Hiashi, pestering me again, just him being like he always is. Every time I do something wrong, even the smallest thing, like not showing up to dinner on time but instead five minutes late, made him mad. If it was Hanabi, my sister, however, I presume he'd go a little easier on her. He's always considered my sister Hanabi, who is only nine, to be much stronger than I. I guess it was just hopeful thinking that it would change. It didn't.

After dinner on this particular night, Father had rushed up to me in an angry fit because I left as soon as dinner was over, and an elder wanted to talk to me. I didn't want to talk to them. Just more rambling on about how I had to act when I became heir. Just more commenting about Hanabi being better than I was, and I had to step it up. Nothing special in the least. Just them being elders. The elder that had wanted to speak to me about whatever it was, made a remark about me being disrespectful and dishonorable. It supposedly embarrassed my father, and so he scolded me for about ten minutes until I fled off from all the cruel words. Sure, I might get punished later, and I might walk into the Hyuuga mansion only to get greeted by stares and sneers, but I didn't care. I made my way towards the gates of Konoha, threatening to leave forever, but I stopped myself before I reached the gates, crying uncontrollably. I didn't understand why it always had to be that way. I just didn't. I walked slowly over towards the bench at the end of town, sobbing, and hiccupping. I sat on the bench, unaware of any other presences here but the howling wind blowing cherry blossoms from the nearby trees. I stopped crying gradually, looked up into the sky, and took in the warm spring air. I loved the konoha surroundings. The dim lights cast a slight shadow on the bench I was sitting on, showing myself. I sighed out deeply. This felt much better, after the stress I had just endured.

When I looked up over at the gates at the word peace absently, I noticed a shadow of a person. From the silhouettes posture, it seemed they were looking at me. I flinched a little, and a chill went down my spine. They must have noticed I had seen them, because they turned around abruptly and didn't look back once.

Being curious, I stood up and slowly approached the person, until a light nearby showed me who it was. It was Gaara. Sabaku no Gaara. Yes, I had seen him before, but I never really interacted with him. I'd seen him kill people, fight people, speak coldly, but I never really approached him. His eyes were closed, scarlet hair waving wildly in the wind, and eyes rimmed black, shut. His eyelids twitched ever so slightly, until he opened them, and looked back at me. His eyes were a snowy blue almost green color. They were beautiful, but dangerous. He didn't smile, or make any true expression for that matter, he just looked.

I smiled a little, being me, shy little Hinata. "Um…hi." I said. I was scared out of my skin, I could feel my teeth chattering, and me trying to control them, and my legs started to cave in slightly. I felt like an idiot.

_He's gonna kill me…I know it's all over…Stupid Hinata! Why'd you speak!_

I thought.

To my surprise, he simply nodded and then turned to face me completely. I could feel him studying me, surveying me. I was very uncomfortable, but did not hint so.

"Why are you here? Why were you crying back there?" he asked in a soft, but deep and husky voice

How did he know I was crying? I didn't cry near here, I stopped a long time ago. "How did you…know?" I asked, forcing my terrible stuttering habit away so he wouldn't kill me for that.

"I could hear you. That's all." he said. He didn't bother moving.

"Oh." I said awkwardly.

"So, why were you crying?" he asked again.

"I…m-my father…he scolded me again." I said.

Gaara didn't move.

"It was because I didn't talk to an elder or…something." I said quietly, shifting from foot to foot.

Gaara finally stopped leaning up against the gates and came nearer to me. "So you're just escaping a bit of misery…like me," he said.

I nodded a little. "I guess you could say that." I said.

"except mine is much worse." he said.

His face looked a bit sad now that I thought about it, but it was one of those hidden emotion things, something you had to pay a lot of attention to to even notice it was there.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He looked at me, slightly surprised, but only his eyes changed their emotion. "You'd actually listen?" he asked.

Why would he ask me that? Oh yeah, people usually considered anything bad that involved him his fault right away. I guess that's why. "Yes." I finally said.

He nodded towards the bench I was sitting on minutes ago, and I followed him over to it. We sat there, and then he looked at me. I could tell from his expression that he had really wanted someone to spill out to. He never could though; his emotions always had to remain inside him. Why would he actually tell me though? I would think I was the last person he'd speak to.

"I have been abandoned by Sunagakure." he said.

"What? Y-your entire country?" I asked a little surprised.

"It's been that way, forever." he said.

I nodded. It had been that way. I heard from Naruto awhile ago that the Kazekage tried to kill him numerous times. His brother and sister were afraid of him, and he was misunderstood by every other being of life there was.

"I've been held responsible for the murder of a civilian in Konoha, because they found traces of my sand around the area." he said.

Then why was he at the gate? They'd definitely find and interrogate him if he was out in the open like that. "Why are you at the front of Konoha then?" I asked. I was still worried though. I kept thinking that more than likely if they thought he did it, and his sand was there, he might have done it, and I could be next.

"Because there is no use for me to hide. It's a futile effort. "he said. "And if they're stupid enough to try and take me, they're dead." he said so simply it was almost inhuman.

I didn't move, I just looked at him.

"The sand they found…from my sand armor." he said.

"Why did you have it on?" I asked.

"I was fighting." he said.

"Who?" I asked. I wanted to understand this suddenly, and almost forgot who I was talking to.

"Assassins. The sound village assassins. They want me dead before the Chuunin exams begin." he said. "It was a simple fight, but I'm one to know you can never let your guard down." he said. I could see that on him, the last bit of sand from his sand armor, which was on his arms, was falling off. "And now, because that sand was in front of that place, I've been held responsible for the murder of two jounin. They also think I'm the only one around who could kill Jounin." he said.

It was true. Gaara was extremely powerful. He was, to me, the only person that could kill a jounin.

"The person that killed them wanted Sasuke, and they found that out because the murderer left a symbol resembling the sharingan eye on the back of one of the killed Jounin, etched out in blood. They must figure it's me, because I have to face him in the chuunin exams." he said.

"Someone wants Sasuke…." I said. I was afraid of Gaara. I didn't want to be sitting here, right beside him, when he was still very unstable, the looks in his eyes changed drastically with every sentence he said, as if each had its own emotion to fill it. His gourd's sand was shifting inside, making strange noises. That also scared me.

"You think it's me, don't you?" he asked suddenly, his eyes glaring into mine.

I was chocked up, I couldn't say a word.

"Well…" he asked.

"No…no Gaara…I don't…" I said.

"…They'd all say that just to escape death." he said as he stood up.

I looked at him. "I must return home…" I said.

Gaara looked at me. "You want to go back to the very place that causes you what you define as "misery"?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I have no choice." I said.

"Don't worry about what people think about you. If you only care for yourself, and stop being a fool by listening to what other's opinions are about you, then you will surely live." he said, and then jumped off. I stared after him. What would he possibly know? But then to, maybe he did know. His life, as I had just witnessed, was full of problems. Gaara did have it tougher than I could even imagine. Jounin and a couple of chuunin ran up all at once to me.

"Hinata-Chan!" said one. "What are you doing out so late? It's not safe out here."

"I was just taking a walk." I said. It was true, until I unexpectedly met Gaara.

"Ah…have you by any chance seen that Gaara guy from the Village Hidden in the Sand?" asked another.

"…No…why do you ask?" I asked acting as unknowing as I could.

"He's murdered some konoha jounin." said a chuunin.

"Really? How do you know this!?" I asked, trying to act surprised and like I would if I hadn't have heard from Gaara first.

They bought it. "We found small traces of his sand by the crime scene, and also…" said a chuunin. "The sharingan eye sketched out in blood on one of the jounin's vests." he said.

I looked down at my feet as if I were sad. "That's…" I said. I was sad, but I had to make it look so I didn't know anything that Gaara had just told me.

"Hinata-sama, go home and get some rest. It's really not wise to be out here this time of night. "said one jounin.

I nodded. "I hope you find the criminal." I said. "But you know, it might not be Gaara…you may want to investigate one more time…" I said.

They looked at me like I was out of my mind, but I knew it wasn't him. I had known Gaara to be brutally honest, and he wouldn't lie about something like this. Even though I didn't know him personally, looking at him, you could tell he wasn't that kind of person. "Um…sure thing Hinata-sama." said a chuunin, and then they jumped off.

I was standing alone now. I hope that helped. I didn't want him to get in trouble with Konoha about something he said he didn't do. That would add to his misery here. I felt I still wasn't truly alone, and activated by byakugan to see if I could find someone. Up in a cherry blossom tree, I saw him. Gaara had watched the whole thing. I deactivated it and looked at him directly. He jumped out of site after that…but did I see a ghost of a smile appear on his face? I must be dreaming…

I walked back to the Hyuuga mansion, in slightly higher spirits. Sabaku no Gaara apparently wasn't that bad. And what he said, might help. It would sure lift a ton of stress from me If I did only worry about myself when it came to the Hyuuga clan, but at the same time, it wouldn't be right. Although Gaara may have been half right, I knew what was best, but it took him being wrong for me to realize what was right. Arigato Gaara.


End file.
